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Commentaries on the Fourth War
The Commentaries on the Fourth War is a 628 K.C. book by Sir Edrington W. Grunwald, in which the author outlines the history leading up to the events of the Blood War. Grunwald also provides commentary on the politics of both the Grand Alliance and the New Horde, along with personal stories from his time as a soldier in the Stormwind Royal Army. Grunwald argues that the outbreak of hostilities following the War on Argus deserve to be titled the 'real' Fourth War, as opposed to previous conflicts like the War on Pandaria or the conflict's name as the 'Blood War.' Furthermore, he adds that while the Alliance is not blameless in starting the war, the Horde, specifically the Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, bear the brunt of the burden for making the first strike with the Burning of Teldrassil. As a veteran of the Royal Army, Grunwald expresses to having a biased account of the war in the introduction to his work. Notably, he comments heavily on the military conduct and politics of the Alliance, critiquing conservative war-hawks for their eagerness to begin the conflict. He also makes comments against the deep-seeded biases and prejudices that he argues undermine the status of the Alliance as a 'civilizing force,' while still calling for the destruction of the Forsaken as a people and the armed pacification of the Horde. He concludes that the Alliance can achieve victory and a lasting peace by avoiding a "descent into barbarity as the Horde have" and instead offering the Horde "the hand of freedom and peace -- the promise of a conclusive end that does not end with the ultimate destruction of one side." Sir Edrington Grunwald's work features a number of historical errors and issues in interpretation. Principally, his work features a 'theatrical' nature to it as opposed to a purely scholarly one. He often places words in the mouths of renowned figures, suggesting an interpretation of the events as opposed to relying solely on historical sources. Moreover, his presentation of battles, even ones he fought and survived, are at times incorrect -- specifically regarding his troop and casualty numbers. Finally, since the work discusses events so close to the time of its writing, it borders on presentism. Table of Contents # Prologue # Chapter 1: The War on Argus # Chapter 2: Azerite and the False Peace # Chapter 3: Escalation # Chapter 4: The Tipping Point # Chapter 5: Retaliation # Conclusion Misc. Information 'Out of Character Note: '''The book, although only sixty pages, is supposed to be a much larger work around the usual 200 to 300 pages for a historical monograph. For reasons of time, I did not choose to write a full-length work on the content coming out for ''Battle for Azeroth. Instead, ''Commentaries of the Fourth War ''represents the "highlights" of Edrington's work, touching upon the key points and big picture of the book. I encourage readers and players to get the 'vibe' from the book and fill in the blanks from there regarding the smaller details. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy the read! Please leave any comments or criticisms in the comments section of this page or send them through private messages via my Wikia account. Category:Books Category:Historians Category:Military Category:Politics Category:Economy Category:Blood War